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Canada hires 48 scholars from top U.S. universities

educationAug 28, 2026232,529

Twenty-one Canadian universities announced they have hired 64 global researchers under a government-backed program that provides C$504 million in funding to relocate their work to Canada, the New York Times reported. Of the 64 incoming scholars, 48 are leaving American campuses, including faculty from Harvard, Yale and MIT, and 23 are Canadians returning home. The Times said the hiring surge followed what it described as a crackdown on American academia by the Trump administration, which created an opening Canadian institutions moved to exploit. Phillip Zamore, chair of the RNA Therapeutics Institute at the University of Massachusetts, told the paper he had concluded the United States was no longer the country most enthusiastic about science. Canadian universities said the recruits will advance projects in areas such as health and artificial intelligence. The immediate consequence is a concentrated transfer of expertise to Canadian campuses and a loss of senior hires for multiple U.S. institutions that previously held those researchers.

Sarah J. Jackson
@sjjphd.bsky.social

More brain drain: “Twenty-one universities in Canada announced on Thursday the hiring of dozens of researchers to join their top academic ranks, poaching the majority of the recruits from the United States. Of the incoming 64 researchers, 48 will leave American campuses…”

146545d ago
Sarah J. Jackson173

“I used to live in the country that I thought was the most enthusiastic about…science improving the human condition, of any country in the world,” said Phillip Zamore, the chair of RNA Therapeutics Institute at the University of Massachusetts. “And I woke up one day and that wasn’t true anymore.”

Diedrich Bader33

Our super power was luring the world’s smartest people here and keeping them This is so self destructive but typical of this administrations anti intellectualism

Dr. Hilary Agro, PhD 🍄21

This is part of why there are no jobs for young Canadian academics anymore. How can we compete against profs with 15 years at Yale? And I 100% don't blame the Americans, they need safety. This is a structural problem.

Richard Levine11

So, we get a stupid name change (that only a few will actually use) for a body of water, and they, the people of Canada, get a bunch of useful people that will enhance their future.

Lucky Bishnoi 296

Canada attracting researchers from the U.S. is definitely worth paying attention to. When highly skilled academics move, the impact goes beyond individual universities. Talent follows opportunity, research support, and a strong academic environment. The long-term effects could be significant.

Christopher Cole6

This article is about Brain Drain; but it has all of the attributes of the fraud of DOGE and an Administration working toward that result -- ending funding, requiring orthodoxy; an assault on science and facts; making politics the litmus test for funding new knowledge, etc. Disgrace.

Quoting this
Max Kennerly660

Can't believe these Ivory Tower academics left merely because the American government decided it should arbitrarily revoke research funding and visas, dictate what scholars publish & teach, and send students & assistants to concentration camps.

Sanjay Srivastava64

The U.S. is a massive funder of science. Canada does not come anywhere close. Stories about a handful of scientists get attention, but rather than "brain drain," the likely outcome if the U.S. continues its path is that there will simply be fewer scientists and less science getting done in the world

Dr. Hilary Agro, PhD 🍄19

This is part of why there are no jobs for young Canadian academics anymore. And I 100% don't blame the Americans, they need safety. This is a structural problem. youtu.be/6iFYCyR0uac

Ashley Juavinett, PhD14

One teaching professor and her wife to beam up to Vancouver, please and thanks Scotty

Angelle Haney Gullett12

TAKE ME, CANADA! I PROMISE I AM SMART AND WORK HARD!!

Ralf W11

Just one example of the wreckage that Republicans are causing to our universities, our competitiveness, our futures.

Bill Lamb4

A real free link: archive.ph/6OLSl

Dov4

It's frankly astonishing how quickly a country can self-destruct...

Borbs of Summer 👩‍🌾🌺4

Canada is doing their own Operation Paperclip

Bessma Momani3

Not really. Some of this was reverse brain drain. Having been a part of these processes, we were highly encouraged to find expatriate Canadians. Not sure how the dust settled on actual origins, but Canadians who had left to the US/Europe previously were especially encouraged to apply.

Harry Litman
@harrylitman.bsky.social

We have lost our world standing in multiple ways. This would have been inconceivable but for the Trump administration. Canada Hires 48 Scholars Away From Top U.S. Universities www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/w...

53745d ago
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